So excited to announce (a bit later than intended, but life and a surgery got in the way!) that my newest book, Lightning: A Collection of Very Small Stories is now available.

As promised, the kindle version (and epub and various others) is FREE at Smashwords. You can download it HERE! I’m trying to get the Amazon Kindle version free as well, but as I learned, the lowest an author can price a book is 99 cents. So my Amazon kindle version is 99 cents and if enough people click the link at Amazon to indicate they found a cheaper version (at smashwords) I am hopeful that Amazon will price match and in not too much time, it will become Free on Amazon as well!!

And finally, this little book is available in paperback, and if you’re a fan of Sam Tsui’s art you’ll want to get your hands on this so you can really appreciate his beautiful cover design. Here’s the link to order the paperback: Paperback at Amazon!

I’ll be hosting a paperback giveaway on Goodreads.com shortly, so stay tuned!

I am so thrilled to finally be able to share this cover with you! Like my cover for A Gazillion Little Bits, this beauty was designed and created by Sam Tsui, and I am so honored to have his art for this book of short (short short) stories!

So, here’s the Kindle cover:

And here’s the front and back for the paperback version:

I’m waiting on proofs for the paperback and am assembling the files to upload for Kindle and I’m hoping to be all set by October 1st. Maybe earlier! And did I mention, my kindle version is going to be FREE!!! I’m so looking forward to your feedback. I’ve had a great time writing these little stories and hope you enjoy them!

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I’m so excited to be putting the finishing touches on my flash fiction collection, Lightning: A Collection of Very Small Stories. In these one-page pieces, you’ll find Sirens, a red-mustached ghost, talking mice, serial killers, a dog, a mysterious warehouse, a woman lost in a parking lot, ancestors, a crazy farmer, rainbows, a shape-shifter, a factory worker, several stories from the post-apocalyptic world of my novel, A Gazillion Little Bits, and much, much more!

Each story in the collection is under 500 words and 6 or 7 of them are exactly 100 words each.

I’m also thrilled to announce that the wonderful Sam Tsui will be creating the cover for Lightning: A Collection of Very Small Stories! Stay tuned for that REVEAL. Anticipated publication date is October 1st.

And for the first month, the kindle version will be FREE!!

In the meantime, here are a few recent collections of short stories that I’ve enjoyed reading. Check them out. They’re on amazon!

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THE MICE IN Sienna’s kitchen were maddening, especially the brazen, fat little rodent who scooted across the linoleum from the stove to the refrigerator and back again.

The exterminator had visited, and although he’d closed holes and set traps, it seemed for every mouse killed another two appeared. Her cat had lost interest, and even worse, Sienna had seen mice at his food bowl more than once.

A shrill squeak pierced the quiet. The scurrying ceased. It’s the glue trap, Sienna thought. She’d hurry and toss the whole mess now, before the mouse died and that horrible, sweet smell of decomposition permeated her apartment.

Sienna almost squashed the patronizing little rodent right there. She knew what bearer bonds were. “Show me,” she said, annoyed.

“I’ll take you to them,” he said. “But first unstick me, please. The glue makes my toes ache. Pour oil on my feet and I’ll be able to slide off.”

Sienna shook her head. “I’m not stupid. You’ll run away. I’ll pour the oil when you pay me.”

The mouse sighed. “Grab a flashlight,” he said. “And don’t forget the oil.”

***

Sienna followed the mouse’s directions down the basement stairs to a thick wall at the back covered with a century’s grime.

“The bonds are behind the brick,” he said.

She put down the mousetrap and oil and tapped the wall with her flashlight until she could pull out one brick, and then another. She shined the light into the black and retrieved a yellowed envelope.

“I’ve paid you,” the mouse demanded. “Now set me free.”

“No,” she said, examining the bonds.

“There’s gold in there, too,” he added. “Jewelry and coins lost from the apartments above.”

Sienna’s eyes lit and she yanked out more bricks, one narrowly missing the mouse as it dropped, knocking the oil over. “I can’t see anything,” she complained.

Spilled oil rolled over the trap, dissolving the glue. “You need to reach far down,” he said, wriggling free. “The gold’s at the very bottom.”

Sienna bent and stretched her arms into the hollow, fingertips searching.

The fat mouse scurried between the bricks to where his extended family assembled. En masse, they covered Sienna’s hands and arms, nibbling and tugging, biting and yanking, until she lost her balance and fell screaming into the wall, upside down, stuck where she landed.

Calling good-bye in a variety of tiny, deep voices, the fat mouse and his cousins left Sienna and went about their business, not at all minding that soon that horrible, sweet smell of decomposition would permeate the basement.

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Are you wondering what an EVERSTEW is??
To find out, check out my guest post, “Slow Cookin’ in the Year 2256 – The Food of A Gazillion Little Bits” at The Book Faery Reviews.
The GIVEAWAY (one paperback copy of A Gazillion Little Bits and one e-book international) runs until the end of June!
While you’re there, be sure to browse her site — lots of great reviews, guest authors and fun stuff. Thank you, Farrah, for the opportunity to visit!

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Some years back, I picked up a copy of the New York Landmarks Conservancy’s Touring the Upper East Side by Andrew S. Dolkart. I can’t recall where I bought it, maybe the Historical Society or the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but anyway, this past year, finally, my son and I decided to actually walk some of the wonderful tours described in its pages! We started with the Treadwell Farm Historic District where we sat in on a church service, moved on to do part of the Upper East Side Historic District (bothered a couple of doormen to let us in lobbies), and then this past week, we took in the small Henderson Place Historic District (almost attended an open house, but chickened out!)

The book is beautifully laid out and easy to follow with fabulous images. We learned quite a bit about the streets we’ve walked for over twenty years and came home from each tour inspired do more exploring online.

The book includes an index to architects and buildings, and the only thing I missed was perhaps a dictionary explaining some of the architectural terms. More than once we looked at each other and wondered, “what does that mean?” Thankfully we used my son’s iphone to provide onsite, on-the-fly clarifications!

I was not aware that there are other walking tours published by the Conservancy (Lower Manhattan, The Flatiron, Historic Harlem) and look forward to a guided exploration of these additional neighborhoods. You can order Touring the Upper East Side or any of the other titles HERE!

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The fabulous Aparna Singh at Doodles, doodles everywhere is hosting an international book & amazon gift-card GIVEAWAY for A GAZILLION LITTLE BITS on her blog! Hurry on over and check it out and enter to win, and while you’re there, spend some time exploring her site. She’s got all sorts of fun stuff going on, and not just book related!

The GIVEAWAY ends, according to her countdown clock, in 11 days and 10 hours! You can enter for a free e-book or paperback plus gift card HERE!